Rich in Faith

Good morning and welcome in today Today we’re going to take a look at a passage of scripture from Luke.

Luke 6:20 ” And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. “

When somebody is poor they have little money and few possessions. For an example, look at the disciples and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus didn’t even have a place to lay his head, that’s how poor he was while walking on this Earth. The disciples were the same way because they followed after the Lord.

There’s a lot of people out in the world today who actually despise poor people and don’t like them, but Jesus teaches that to be poor in possessions is a blessing from God. God has chosen the poor of this world rich in faith. The love of money will cause you to seek after where the next dollar is coming from, rather than seeking God. We’re not supposed to love this world we’re supposed to love God, which is the first commandment.

Love for God is about spending time learning from the scriptures each day, or hearing it preached. The love of money, on the other hand, will drive a person into the work market so they can work work work. There are people who get so far into the world that they work 40 to 50 hours a week, simply to buy something they dont need.

Jesus taught that it is a great blessing to be poor. The Lord Jesus Christ warns us about the desire for more and more gain.

Poor people put their faith and trust in God rather than in money and possessions. Remember that some of the Apostles of Christ were occupational fisherman. When Jesus called them, they quit their jobs in order to follow Him.

How many people would actually do that in society today, quit their jobs in order to learn more about the ways of Christ? That is exactly what the disciples did.

There were people 2000 years ago that would come out and hear Jesus preach for a few days at a time, even when they had nothing to eat. Entire families with kids too. What a group of seeking hearts!

There are a lot of people today who just cannot do this because all they want is more and more money and possessions.

The love of money drives a sword right inbetween itself and the love of God. This is why the love of money is the root of all evil because it takes us away from loving Christ and his teachings. It takes us away from that desire to be with him.

Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

When you are poor you have more time available to seek after God. Jesus set the example. He left everything behind in heaven and came down here to Earth and was poor. Earthly gain is just a desire for more and more and it really takes you away from what we really need most. What we need is Jesus.

What do you think everybody’s going to be doing in Heaven someday? We’re going to be with Jesus all the time!

The avaricious desire for gain can take you away from your own family. A woman is supposed to be a chase keeper at home. If she decides to go out into the work place and get a job in society or decides that she needs money and tries to make a living who suffers? Her entire family.

She is putting off the care of her own children, the charge that Christ has commanded her. Shes supposed to stay at home to provide for the emotional needs of the children and to be a helper to her husband.

A dad can do the same thing. He can go out into society and get a 50 hour a week job simply to purchase a one million dollar home for their family, while the truth is that their family would probably be closer and happier living in a cabin somewhere out in the woods. They would have more time with each other and be able to seek things of Jesus Christ together. I always thought what a great life they had in the movie Swiss Family Robinson.

That’s what’s most important is spending a lot of time with each other. That’s what we talked about the other day about the movie Scrooge. Look what happened to him. The love of money can wreck time with your own family. It can ruin relationships and marriages. It can ruin a child’s life.

Most of all, it can ruin your relationship with our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Gospel.

As I said already, when you decide to turn away from love of possessions, you will have lots more time available to seek out God. You have more time for prayer, more time to seek His Word, and more time to worship Him. The love of money puts an end to that in a big hurry.

Remember Jesus taught to be content with our food and our clothes. So much has changed in our society, even in the last 300 years. I think you would probably have to go to certain parts of Africa to find a plethora of people who are content living day-by-day with just the food and their clothes on their back.

What do you really need to survive each day? What do you truly need to get by on?

When it really comes down to it, if you’ve got a meal to eat, your food for the day, the clothes on your back, and Lord willing you’ve got a place to sleep, what else do you really need? You just completed one more day! Even the Lord Jesus taught not to think about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough evil in itself. You just have to focus on one day at a time.

See how different it is in the world that we live in today! It’s a money driven society.

Being content with what you have is great gain. On the other hand, it’s that constant feeling that I’ve got to go work and buy that expensive new truck or, I’ve got to go work so I can buy the newest things that really takes up your time you’ve been given. This is what pulls you away from a private relationship with Jesus Christ. It pulls you away from friendships that you have in the church. It pulls you away from brothers in Christ. Moses could have been a rich ruler in Egypt but he gave it all up to live in the desert in a tent. Look how God used him.

Remember the Lord’s disciples were always together with Him. Where He was, they were too. They are an example of the relationship that all of us should be having with God every single day.

Certain people 2000 years ago were seeking Jesus so much, that they joined Him out in fields, with no roof over their heads, sleeping in the fields at night just to hear Jesus preach the Word of God. They were hungry for God’s Truth.

Who do you think were out there in those fields? Families. Dads, wives, sons and daughters all together. They weren’t worried about money or the next meal but more concerned about what Christ would teach them.

So much has changed. Being hungry for the Word of God is a completely different hunger, it’s Spiritual. Sometimes I think about people who take an apple and put it on the end of a stick to lead around a horse or a mule. In the world today people are being led by money on a stick.

The Lord taught to take no thought for your life and don’t seek after what you’re going to eat or drink but seek ye First the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.

When the disciples went out into society, they went out to preach the gospel. It wasn’t to hang out with people, but for the purpose of converting them to Christ.

They would go into certain homes or into a community and if they were received, they would eat and drink the things that were provided to them. Now, take a look at the worldly Christianity in the world today which is truly motivated by the love of money.

Our lord Jesus was so unconcerned about money, remember it was Judas who had the bag. Jesus wanted to teach and to instruct the people because they were like sheep that didn’t have a shepherd.

So once again, it’s the poor of this world who are rich in faith. The true riches are found in scripture. We should desire to be filled with His wisdom each day. Exhort one another while it is today. The further away you get, the harder the heart becomes.

If you have possessions or finances, you can show people love by using what you have to help others.

It is so difficult to see all these false Christian churches out there today who are simply lining their own pockets with money. It’s so upsetting to see them running around in all kinds of rich expensive clothes and driving around in limos and sports cars while others suffer.

How did Jesus come into Jerusalem…on a donkey, humble and meek. Look at the people who profess christianity today who show up for church service maybe driving a fancy expensive motorbike? That is why the love of money is so evil because people forget the poor. All around this world we are constantly surrounded by poor people.

As the apostle teaches, they had despised the poor because they were playing favorites and catering to the rich and wealthy.

God has chosen the poor of this world rich in faith. If you haven’t been faithful with the unrighteous Mammon who’s going to commit to you the true riches?

Matt 19:21-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

²³ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

It’s not a sin to be poor, but rather a great blessing!

That’s it for today, but Lord willing we will talk tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everyone.